1. Field
The present invention is directed to an exercise machine and particularly one that is computerized.
2. State of the Art
Exercise machines such as stationary exercise cycles and treadmills are widely available and include a variety of features and operational controls. For example, exercise cycles typically include controls to vary the amount of resistance to the rotation of the pedals. A flywheel or other rotating mechanism offers an internal resistance to simulate what a user might experience if he were actually pedaling a bicycle on available terrain.
Treadmills typically include controls to vary the speed of the tread as well as some type of structure to vary the angle of inclination of the treadmill surface. Adjustments to the angle of inclination are made from time to time in order to regulate what may be viewed as the resistance or degree of difficulty of the exercise being performed by the user on the treadmill.
It appears generally accepted that an exercise program undertaken on a regular basis over a period of time is preferred over sporadic exercise. To improve the results from such a regular program, it is frequently desirable to perform the same exercises for longer periods of time or with differing degrees of difficulty. Combinations of difficulty and duration of selected exercises may be used to achieve desired goals of exercise conditioning.
Certain existing exercise machines, notably exercise cycles, are adapted to provide the user a set of selectable exercise routines from which the user may choose. Such routines are displayed typically in the form of a path along a terrain, with the path going uphill, along level ground, and downhill in various combinations. The user chooses from among the programs by looking at the depicted terrain patterns. Once the user has selected the particular terrain, he begins exercising and his "position" along the terrain is indicated typically by a light that "travels" along the terrain as time progresses. As the graphic display of terrain increases in angle, the amount of resistance offered to the pedaling is increased. As the terrain levels and then slopes downward, the resistance is decreased accordingly. These routines are pre-set by the manufacturer in terms of both their levels of difficulty and time duration.
It is currently believed that the pulse rate of the user is a substantial indicator of the level of exercise being undertaken and also an indicator of the amount of benefit being secured by the user. A lower pulse rate may indicate a lesser degree of conditioning to a user than a higher pulse rate. In addition, the user's Calorie burn rate while exercising or total Calorie use during a particular exercise session is considered to be an indicator of benefits derived by the user. Many users of exercise machines are interested in exercise for the purpose of weight loss. Users may be interested in knowing current Caloric use rate and total Calorie usage for that particular session of exercise.
A computerized exercise apparatus is therefore desirable to provide a program of exercise of varying difficulties and/or time durations. It would be highly desirable for such an exercise apparatus to be user programmable in terms of both resistance intensities and time durations. In addition, such an exercise apparatus would desirably monitor and display to the user actual metabolic data such as heart rate and Calorie use information. The Calorie use information would preferably be based upon actual user background information, such as the user's age, weight, and sex. Such an exercise apparatus would also additionally preferably include a means for automatically adjusting the resistance to cause the user to achieve a selected target metabolic condition, in terms of, for example, pulse rate.